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Plasma Assited Physical Vapour Deposition (Pa - PVD) |
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The PA-PVD process at Surface Engineering Limited is an atomistic deposition process in which the coating material is vaporised from a solid source in the form of atoms or molecules and transported in the form of vapour through a low pressure plasma environment to the substrate onto which it condenses. The PA-PVD process is used to deposit films with thicknesses in the range of 2 - 3µm. It can also be used to deposit multilayer coatings, films of elements and alloys as well as compounds such as Titanium Nitride (TiN) and Chromium Nitride (CrN) using a reactive deposition process.
TiN is an ultra-hard coating which can improve the performance of a wide range of tools and components. It dramatically reduces wear inflicted on these engineering components be they cemented carbides, high-speed steels or other. The PA-PVD coating system at Surface Engineering Limited leaves previous heat treatments and dimensional accuracy unaffected. The excellent tribological characteristics of the TiN coating are complemented by the aesthetically pleasing colour of gold. Regularly coated tools include punches, drills, inserts, burners and more.
| Punching and forming tools: |
- Increases tool life between 4 - 10 times
- Reduces wear
- Improves metal forming characteristics
- Reduces material pick up
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| Plastic moulding tools: |
- Reduces wear from filled plastics
- Improves plastic flow rates
- Generates faster cycle times
- Protects polished and textured surfaces
- Improves mould release
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| Components: |
- Reduces drag and sticking
- Increases wear resistance
- Offers a wider choice of component materials
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| Cutting tools: |
- Results in large cost savings
- Reduces tool wear
- Increases cutting speeds
- More components can be processed per tool change
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Physical vapour deposition (PVD) covers a range of processes which can fall into three general categories: evaporation, sputtering, plasma assisted - physical vapour deposition (PA-PVD). Each category claims a number of variants
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